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About War

"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder." Einstein

The Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM) said today that the killing of 16 unarmed Palestinian civilians is nothing less than unadulterated state murder by the state of Israel.

Those killed yesterday included farmer Omar Wahid Samour, 26, who died when Israeli forces fired artillery shells at him while he was on his own land, more than 700 meters from the boundary fence in southern Gaza.

Over 1500 more Palestinians were wounded according to Gaza’s health ministry, half of them by live fire and at least 20 are in a critical condition.

The people of Gaza had announced they were going to peacefully protest near the border on Land Day to commemorate the six Palestinians killed during protests against Israeli land confiscation in the Galilee in 1976.

THE IAWM said that they have a legitimate right to peacefully protest on their own lands.

Israeli state forces deliberately attacked them with snipers, drones, artillery and tear gas. None of the deaths and injuries is accidental – the protesters were deliberately targeted. The killings were premeditated - therefore they are nothing short of state murder.

Jim Roche, PRO of the IAWM said:

“This event is so reminiscent of killings by state forces in Apartheid South Africa. Well over 100,000 Gazans had assembled to protest in peace. They were deliberately targeted and murdered or wounded by Israeli state forces that had strategically positioned themselves to carry out these heinous crimes.”

“The people of Gaza have been suffering immensely for the last ten years under a cruel, inhumane siege and three massive military onslaughts by the Israeli State. The Gaza strip is in a chronic humanitarian crisis and on the edge of full-blown disaster. Now this additional carnage is brought upon them.”

He continued:

“We call on the Irish Government to condemn these unlawful killings and to take appropriate solidarity action with the besieged people of Gaza. If there was ever a time to expel the Israeli Ambassador it is now.

We witnessed last week the fawning sycophantic actions of Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney cow towing to the British and EU Governments in expelling a Russian diplomat from Ireland despite the lack of evidence of involvement of the Russian Government in the Salisbury chemical attack and despite the fact that Ireland is a supposedly neutral country and should not be getting involved anyway in a dangerous new Cold War. Let them now step up to the plate given there is ample evidence of state murder of peaceful Palestinian civilians on a massive scale by the Israeli forces.”

He also criticised many mainstream media outlets portrayal of the killings as the result of ‘clashes’ and ‘rioting’:

“There is appalling denial in the mainstream media of what happened yesterday. Can journalists, reporters and editors just look at the videos circulating on social media outlets? These murders were not the result of clashes or rioting. They were targeted and premeditated and must therefore be called acts of state murder.”

The IAWM also called for Irish people to come to the solidarity rally by Palestinians in Ireland, today at the GPO in Dublin at 1pm.